Richard Marles

In May 2019, after Labor lost the 2019 federal election, it was reported that Marles would stand for the deputy leadership of the party, and would likely be elected unopposed following Clare O'Neil's decision not to run. He was formally endorsed as deputy to Anthony Albanese on 30 May, and selected the portfolio of Defence in the shadow cabinet.

In June 2013, he was appointed the Minister for Trade and a member of the Cabinet, succeeding Craig Emerson, who resigned following the June 2013 leadership spill that saw Kevin Rudd defeat Julia Gillard for leadership of the Labor Party.

After the ALP's defeat at the 2013 federal election, Marles was appointed Shadow Minister for Immigration and Border Protection under opposition leader Bill Shorten. In February 2016, he began co-hosting the weekly television program Pyne & Marles on Sky News Live with Liberal MP Christopher Pyne. Marles had his portfolio changed after the 2016 election, becoming Shadow Minister for Defence. He has been cited as holding pro-U.S. views and as a "somewhat of a hawk".

In the ministerial reshuffle of 2 March 2012, Marles was given the additional role of Parliamentary Secretary for Foreign Affairs. On 21 March 2013 he resigned these roles after expressing support for Kevin Rudd to challenge Julia Gillard for the leadership; a challenge that did not eventuate.

In June 2009 Marles was appointed Parliamentary Secretary for Innovation and Industry. He retained his seat in the 2010 election and was sworn in as Parliamentary Secretary for Pacific Island Affairs in the First Gillard Ministry on 14 September 2010. In July 2011, Marles became the first Australian member of parliament to visit Wallis and Futuna. Marles arrived in Wallis and Futuna to attend a ceremony with King Kapiliele Faupala in Mata-Utu marking the 50th anniversary of the islands' status as a French Overseas collectivity. Marles had previously visited New Caledonia in October 2010 and French Polynesia in March 2011.

Marles was elected member for Corio on 24 November 2007 in the election that returned the Labor Party to office under the leadership of Kevin Rudd. From February 2008 to June 2009 he was chair of the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs.

In March 2006, Marles nominated for Labor preselection against the sitting member for Corio, Gavan O'Connor, as part of a challenge to several sitting members organised by the right-wing Labor Unity faction of the party. In the local ballot Marles polled 57% of the vote, and his endorsement was then confirmed by the party's public office selection committee.

Marles lives in Geelong with his wife Rachel Schutze. He has three children from his current marriage and one from his first marriage to Lisa Neville, who was elected to the Victorian Legislative Assembly in 2002.

Marles was educated at Geelong Grammar School and the University of Melbourne where he graduated with a Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Laws with Honours. He joined the Melbourne University Labor Club in his first week at university. He was also the General Secretary of the National Union of Students in 1989. He started his career as a solicitor with Melbourne industrial law firm Slater and Gordon. In 1994, he became legal officer for the Transport Workers Union (TWU). He was elected TWU National Assistant Secretary four years later. In 2000 he joined Australia's peak national union body, the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU), as assistant secretary, remaining in the position until 2007.

Richard Donald Marles (born 13 July 1967) is an Australian politician who has been deputy leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and Deputy Leader of the Opposition since May 2019. He has held the Division of Corio in Victoria since the 2007 federal election. He was a parliamentary secretary from 2009 to 2013, and briefly served as Minister for Trade in the second Rudd Government from June to September 2013. He has been a member of the shadow cabinet since Labor's defeat at the 2013 election, and is a senior figure in his state's Labor Right faction.